I can't take it, I love you
by ForeverUndyingFlame
Summary: What if,Clove loved Cato?At the feast that changes her emotions and feelings,which alternates the scnenes.She awaits the moment when she can finally confess her love to him. But will she do it in time? Will they die, live, will Cato love her too?One-shot.


Waiting. Anxiously peering out from the shadows, waiting for my prey. Once one of the tributes come out to recieve their pack, I dart out and kill them. Simple.

I'm assuming District 5 will probably spring out and take her supplies without putting up a fight. Spineless, but smart, she knows she's too much of a coward to take on me and Cato. Thresh is actually pretty itimidating. I don't admit it to Cato, but he knows he's a threat. Hopefully, he doesn't try to fight me. Cato can duel him. While he hunts down tributes, I snatch our bag. And killing anyone who comes along my path.

Now the one I hate most is, _Katniss._ I've actually despised her since the begininng. All that attention at the opening ceremonies, the biggest roar from the audience at the interview, and the thing that makes me want to strangle her to death every time I remind myself of it for a second. She out-scored me.

Once I get my hands on her, I'll promise her a slow, painful death she deserves. Cato was feeling generous, he let me have her kill, after pleading. But to make it more intense, I'll give the audience a good, suspensful show. She'll fight back, but just in case I have backup. One shout of my voice and he'll be there. Cato.

Sadly for her, Loverboy doesn't have her back. Probably on the journey to dying this istant. He got cut deep, it's a miracle he didn't die from blood-loss from now. Cato's voice interups my thoughts.

"Are you shure you'll be alright?", he asks concerned.

I roll my eyes playfully. "Yes, of course! I can take every single one of those whimps down with one knife!", I say smugly. It's somehow true, maybe not Thresh, but possibly Katniss. And that District 5 girl for shure. I just like to flaunt my arrogance.

He smirks, "Alright, I'll be hunting down Thresh", he says while securring his sword into his belt.

We sit, side by side. If only I could tell him how I feel, the way he's determind, rutheless and arrogant, drives me towards him, and turns me on. He's not complely heartless, deep down inside, he'd do anything to protect me. I just know it.

As we sit by the fire, I figure now is the time to confess my love to him. After debating with myself, my conciousness won.

"Cato, I wanted to tell you...", I say. I'm interupted as Cato eyes perk up to see the table slowly rising.

"Best of luck, Clove! Save it for later!", he flashes a smile and scurries off, deep into the dense woods. Sitting there dumbfounded. _If only he would stay! _I think grouchily to myself.

I put out the fire quickly my stomping at it with fustration. Quickly, I get ready and peer out for any presence dashing out.

My knives are prepped, polished and ready to slice through some flesh. But one lays in my hand.

District 5 sprints out the Cornucopia, scooping her bag , running for her life into the forest. My mouth, wide-opened, that makes me aggrovated. Maybe, we've been underestimating her.  
Quickly moving, I run out and throw a knife at the red hair I see swooping away. When it goes flying into her arm, she doesn't react much and makes it out of the forest.

I grind my teeth together, that was certainly not a fatal hit. Atleast I got more tributes to come. On cue, Katniss makes a run for it, slipping the small pathetic orange 'backpack" on her hand. Now is my time to shine.

My hand lets go of the knife as I hear it whizzing through the air. The knife pierces her in the calf. Not again, she dodge the life-ending hit to the heart. Hotness is travelling to my head, I'm driven with anger. As I'm grimancing, she loads an arrow and shoots me. Straight in the ribs.

Even if I am in an enormous amount of pain, I manage to stumble towards Katniss and flop my body right at her. We both go flying to the ground, both of us trying to get on top of one another. Her arrows are about 3 metres away and all she has left if a bow, what harm could she do with that?

"Look what he have here. You have a measily bow, and I have a jacket full of knives? Well that seems unfair! But oh well, fate has brought you here.", I say with a snicker.

Smiling smugly at her, I hold her down and reach at my jacket for my knives. Instantly my eyes are wide, and I'm guessing my mouth is too. My knives, where are they?

As I vigorously turn my head, here and there. Then, I see them. They are all scattered onto the ground, like a trail when I was body slamming Katniss to the ground. They are at our feet if only I could reach them...

Too late. Katniss sees the knives and kicks them with her feet. Hard. They are about 3 meters away also. Not good. I only have a small, tiny knife. Better than nothing.

A good show is the least of my problems right now, I will once I get a hold of this girl! Luckily, I get a few jabs at _her ribs_. _How do you like that?_ I ask in my mind. She's stuggling to cut me with my own knife, gripping on my wrist so hard I think my vains are gonna burst. I hope they don't.

Now we are both trying to turn the tip at each other. Quickly, she throws all her power unexpectecly at me and it cut me on my cheek. Now, she's done it. I get furious and take control.

Repeatedly, I jab her everywhere with the small knife. Her chest, her neck, her arm. Next thing you know, blood is pouring over her, mine and her own. I'm about to struck her with a fatal hit, but I remember. Torture.

"So District 12, where's Loverboy? If my instincts are right, he's dying at this very moment. Now it's time to kill you 'Girl On Fire', just like your pathetic ally, Rue", I say teasingly. That earns me a death glare which makes me more pumped to kill her.

"Well, I dont think that you need much use for you lips anymore, want to blow him one last kiss.", I say evilling as I trace her lips with my knife. I'm blinded my saliva and blood as she spits on me. That makes me raged.

"Okay then, let's get star-", I can't finish. Something is hitting my head over and over. Not enough to kill me, but enough to make damage. This isn't good, if this keeps going on, I could die, from the dent. Without opening my eyes to see what's making the damage.I flop onto my stomach, it stops.

But now when I try to get off from my stomach, weight forces me down. What is it? Katniss.

"Get off me!" I hiss at her. Flailing my arms around, I keep trying to regain my strength. She's not too heavy, but the way she holds me, is hard to get up. Finally, she flips me on my back but gets a tight grip on me. Remembering my head wound, my eyes threaten to tear up from the pain. But I'm a Career! It's forbidden to show wealmess and fear. So I suck up the pain, and hold them back.

The familiar pain, the thumping on my head comes back. Katniss is using her bow as defense, swaying it at my head, which makes a good impact.

She gets off me but I'm too dizzy and confused to get up, I do but I stumble back to my feet.

Right then, I remember my last hope, Cato. I was too overwhelmed with duel to get back up! I don't hesitate, hoping that it's not too late. "Cato! Help! Cato, Hurry !", I scream in agony. Hoping he'll come just in time, just in time.

But no, he's way to far away when I hear him yell my name. This is the end, there's no hope.

In her eyes, I see fire that makes her look fierce and determind. The fire that gave her that nickname. But under all that, I see pain. From Rue's death. Her hand finds one of my knives with a thin curved blade, the one I was using. That was always one of my favourite killing knives.

Just like that she holds it tight, and slices an X on my chest and stomach, then stabs it down right in the middle. Satisfied, she gets up and has tears coming down her cheeks. "That was for Rue. You will regret killing her", she says through tears. Grabbing her bag she starts to retrieve her arrows.

As she bends down to snag her arrows she goes flying onto the ground, with a arrow piercing her arm. "Cato", I moan. Right now she's almost right next to me, I could stab her right now if I had the strength to move my arm, and a knife.

"What did you do to Clove?", he exclaims at her. She looks terrified, her luck just ran out.

Her mouth opens, but then closes. And shakes her head. This girl is surely going to pay.

"I said. What did you do to her?", he says through gritted teeth.

"This.", she simply says and then punches him hard. And I mean _hard_. Right in the nose. Blood stains his shirt as he flies back and scrunches into a ball. She hit him so hard , his nose broke. You could hear the crack his nose made, once the force of her fist touched his skin. Without giving a chance for him to get back up, she grabs a knife of mine she found and stabs him in the chest. He hasps for air.

"Cato!", I manage to croak out. I don't care how much my my body is aching, bleeding, begging for me to stop stressing it, but I must save Cato. Right then I pounce on her and keep punching at her like no tomorrow. Because really, if I don't save myself there _will_ be no tomorrow. "This is for messing with the Careers!" I say as I keep throwing punch after punch.

Cato and I torture her, giving her pain and agony. She's laying on the ground, flooded with blood as we crouch around her. Not wanting to stop causing her pain. Just then, I see Cato literlly rising to the sky. I look up and see a tall dark figure, towering over us. I swallow. Thresh.

"What did you do to this girl?", he demands as he holds up helpless Cato a foot up in the air. "Were you gonna cut up this girl like you did to Rue? Killing her isn't enough, but torture?", he sounds furious and disgusted. Just then I see the potato-sized rock in his hand. Shoot. Before I can plead for mercy, the rock hits at Cato's skull, and he falls to the ground unconcious.

"Cato!", I exclaim as I crawl over to him. Now I'm sobbing, the love of my life nearly dead right infront of my eyes.

Thresh whirls around and faces Katniss, who looks even more terrified. And more soaked with blood. "You were allies with Rue?", he asks. Probably was eaves-dropping on our conversation.

"Y-yes. We planned on bl-blowing up the C-Careers supplies. Bu-but then it was too l-late when I got to her. District 1 got th-there first. I sang her to sleep. And she d-d-died in my arms", she says through sobs and whimpers. Especially the last part. "Do it fast, okay, Tresh", she request from him.

His eyes look deep into thought, and his lips move from one side to another. "I'll let you go. Not only for the little girl but...", he glances at Cato and I. " You've been through enough torture today", he says. "Go now Fire Girl" he says.

Free, safe, she got away. That's not fair, that she can have a chance with the love of her life. But right now, I have a dying Cato in my arms. And I'm not too far from that either.

"Clove", he whispers. Eyes drooped, mouth quivering, he's almost dead.

"Cato! I have to say it now, there's not any other time, but...I love you", I say feeling alot of weight and pressure being lifted off my shoulders.

He smiles weakly."I love you too", he says. The best four words I ever heard coming out of his mouth. Weakly, his fingers are caring my face and he's about to kiss me. We're going to have our first kiss!

At that moment, our opportunity has faded. Just as our lips were about to touch, Thresh stabbed a knife in my skull. I plop down next to Cato as we both are dying. There's no way to avoid it, we have to accept it. We never get the kiss, never share a future, nothing.

In an act of final, continued love, I reach out to grab his hand, and his hand mimmicks. Slowly, inch at a time they get closer. Ready to feel the love, and be in eachother's touch. My vision has already begin to blur and I can't feel my body. Before our hands could touch, I hear a cannon fire. Cato is dead. Followed right after, mine goes off too. I'm dead. As I drift away where life no longer is in me, I don't feel Cato's warmth run up my body.

Cato's and I dead bodies lay there. Motionless, as the hovercraft is ready to take our bodies back home. Failed.

Our hands have yet not touched, and forever they will not. Just an inch to go before our hands would have met. Sometimes an inch could seems just so small, but never underestimate how far an inch can be. At times it's just a measurement, but right now, its seems like a never ending journey, a descending distance, away from his touch.


End file.
